Music & lyrics byRadiohead and article by Greenplastic

Karma police
arrest this man,
he talks in maths,
he buzzes like a fridge,
he’s like a detuned radio.

Karma police
arrest this girl,
her Hitler hairdo
is making me feel ill
and we have crashed her party.

This is what you get,
this is what you get,
this is what you get,
when you mess with us.

Karma police
I’ve given all I can,
it’s not enough,
I’ve given all I can
but we’re still on the payroll.

This is what you get,
this is what you get,
this is what you get,
when you mess with us.

For a minute there
I lost myself, I lost myself.
Phew, for a minute there,
I lost myself, I lost myself.

For a minute there
I lost myself, I lost myself.
Phew, for a minute there,
I lost myself, I lost myself.

© Thom Yorke, 1997

About this song

“It was a band catchphrase for a while on tour – whenever someone was behaving in a particularly shitty way, we’d say, ‘The karma police will catch up with him sooner or later,’” says Jonny. “It’s not a revenge thing, just about being happy with your own behaviour.” Thom laughs, “This is a song against bosses, fuck middle management!” “Karma Police” was debuted back in 1996 during the Alanis Morissette tour. Thom sang the line “This is what you’ll get” an octave higher than he does on the album, with brilliant results. Ed was the one who originally suggested they do a song based on the catch-phrase.

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